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–Not graded
History · Forest

Forest’s post office opened in 1900, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1950 on.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Forest began

When was Forest founded?

1900

The Forest post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 638126 years
Founding year: the first Forest post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Forest’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Forest are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Forest’s homes were built before 1952.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Forest’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Forest’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Forest, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Forest yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Forest is a town in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 638 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Forest is located in the town.

Its first post office opened in 1900. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 629 in 2010, 638 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Forest, 1900 to 1950

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Forest post office opens
  3. 1905Post officeThe Forest post office closes
  4. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Forest on the map, 1950 to 1975

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Forest. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Forest on the 1950 USGS mapForest on the 1975 USGS map1950Deer Park sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Forest.

Famous people

Famous people close to Forest

Nobody well known was born in Forest itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gaylord NelsonAmerican politician · b. 1916
Madilyn BaileyAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1992
Burleigh GrimesAmerican baseball player and manager · b. 1893
Alicia MonsonAmerican long-distance runner · b. 1998
Andy PafkoBaseball player · b. 1921
Ann HraychuckAmerican politician · b. 1951
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Forest had its own post office from 1900 to 1905.

Forest
1900–1905
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Camp Fourteen SchoolschoolGreen Creek SchoolschoolWhite Birch SchoolschoolWoodland Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

CylonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNew HavenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClear LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Forest’s history

What year was Forest founded?

The Forest post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.